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Tuesday, April 22, 2008

In Which I Take On White Flowers (and win!)

This little review could have gone really, really bad. This thought crossed my mind the other day as I was liberally applying Tubéreuse by Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier and realizing seconds later that testing a tuberose perfume on a day the water company was doing maintenance that required shutting down the water supply for the entire street, might not have been the best idea ever. In fact, with my white floral record and the weather getting significantly warmer, it had all the making of a bad day (though a much funnier review).

Don't get me wrong: I have tried Tubéreuse several times before and didn't hate it, but going for the full body experience was pushing my limits to a point a hot shower should have been at least a viable option.

I think I finally have tuberose all figured out. I am more likely to enjoy it when it's not trying too hard to be lady-like. Whenever tuberose is paired with other white flowers like gardenia or orange blossom and doing the pretty, pretty princess thing, chances are it wouldn't work for me. But if it has some masculine notes, a dirty edge or a quirky personality, I just might fall for it. There's no shortage of examples: While the EdP version of Fracas feels off, like wearing an utterly wrong shade of lipstick, the parfum fits me like a bias-cut silk dress. I adore Uncle Serge's Cedre, where tuberose peaks and pokes the wood notes, and the first Parfumerie General bottle I ever bought was Tubéreuse Couture.

But back to this little surprise from MPG. I think it works because of two things: the green leaves that keep the floral parts from becoming a full-on diva, and the gorgeous drydown. I get more ambergris than musk, but in any case, it's considerably softer than many other tuberose perfumes. It has enough development to my nose challenged, while still showing the many faces of tuberose. A warm day makes this scent bloom, but it doesn't get overwhelming. The sillage is polite but still good, and the lasting power is very impressive. Twelve hours after application, I could still smell traces. While I don't need a full bottle and maybe not even a decant, considering the other options in my collection, I did enjoy Tubéreuse a lot more than I expected.

MPG fragrances are sold at Aedes in NYC and LuckyScent (Scent Bar) in L.A.. My sample was bought on eBay.Art: White Tuberose by Pierre-Joseph Redouté. Image: AllPosters.com

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